make it cute

Yarn review: Canadiana by Patons

Acrylic yarns are some of the most popular yarns for making amigurumi – they are machine washable, cheap, and durable. Previously, I talked about my top acrylic yarn, Vanna’s Choice, but when I can’t find the right colour, I need to stray from this line and use something completely different.

Another acrylic yarn I like using is Canadiana by Patons. It is a lighter worsted weight yarn than other popular acrylics, like Red Heart Super Saver and Vanna’s Choice, so creates smaller amigurumi. You may need to go down in hook size if you are used to the heavier worsted weight acrylics.

What do I like about Canadiana yarn?

(1) Comes in a variety of bold colours – The main reason I will turn to Canadiana is because of the awesome colour selection. Not only is there a lot of choice, but the colours themselves are very bold and bright – great for amigurumi! There are solid colours, as well as variegated options. I was able to find the perfect Christmas colours for my Felix the Elf pattern.

(2) Easy to findand at a good price – Like Vanna’s Choice, you can find this yarn in a variety of stores, as well as on many websites online. This means you can use store coupons and sales to get it at a great price!

(3) Nice to crochet with – This yarn is soft and smooth, so is great to work with. It runs through your fingers nicely and has a bit of stretch for easy stitching.

(4) Creates a soft, stretchy fabric – Because of its softness and stretch, Canadiana makes really squishy and cuddly amigurumi. The stretch is also great when making my dog collar pattern, because the collar can slip over a dog’s head!

(5) Machine washable and dryable – I have never machine washed my amis before, so I can’t say how this yarn actually holds up, but Patons claims it “washes and dries beautifully”, which is great if you are making your amigurumi for children.

What don’t I like about Canadiana?

(1) Shiny – If you like yarn with some sheen, then this trait would actually be a plus for you, but I am not a huge fan. While it isn’t as shiny as other acrylics out there, it has more sheen than Vanna’s Choice and the non-premium cheap acrylics. Because the shininess also makes the yarn somewhat slippery, knots may not hold as well with this yarn.

(2) Fuzzes easily – Likely a factor of this yarns smoothness, it also fuzzes up quite easily, so isn’t as durable. For some reason, I found the black to be especially bad for this…don’t know why!

(3) It’s acrylic – While acrylic yarn has its benefits, it also has features that aren’t so great. The production of acrylic yarn is not environmentally friendly, and it doesn’t have the same feel as real wool.Have you used Patons Canadiana yarn before? What do you think of it?